Typus Orbis Terrarum - Abraham Ortelius, 1570. (World Map In Color)
This map gives you a classic 16th century view of the whole world on one print. The land is drawn in an oval shape and surrounded by clouds, a sailing ship and small sea creatures, all printed on warm parchment style paper. It feels like a page taken straight out of an old atlas and works well in a study, library or living room, especially near books, wood and brass details.

To learn more about the history of these pieces and how we craft them in our family workshop, feel free to read our full guide to antique map prints.
 
About this map print
This print is based on Typus Orbis Terrarum, the famous world map by Abraham Ortelius. It first appeared in his book Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, printed in Antwerp in 1570, which many historians call the first modern atlas because it brought many maps together in one regular book.
 
Ortelius used newer geographic ideas, many from Gerard Mercator and other 16th century mapmakers, to draw the continents in a clearer way. The Americas sit on the left, with Europe, Africa and Asia on the right, all covered by a neat grid of latitude and longitude lines so the viewer can read the map like a real tool, not only as decoration.
 
Around the land you see wide oceans filled with a sailing ship and a few sea creatures, while the outer border is made of thick clouds. These details remind you that much of the sea was still unknown and full of stories about what might be hiding there.
 
At the bottom, a Latin quote from the writer Cicero talks about how small human affairs seem when someone knows the size of the whole world and thinks about eternity. That line fits the feeling of the map very well, because you are looking at all known lands and seas on one map and seeing how everything connects.
 
The coastlines and place names connect closely with Ortelius maps like Europae and his separate map of the Americas, so this world map works nicely as the center piece if you want to build a small wall of prints from his atlas.
 
If you are curious about the history behind this piece, we put together a short background on this map for you to read.

Craft & finish
Every replica we make is individually hand-processed in our family workshop. We finish the paper with a traditional beeswax seal to give it a warm, heavy texture. Our team also adds subtle gold paint details by hand to help the artwork truly shine. To complete the look, we hand-burn the edges to give each piece the feel of a true historical artifact.
 
While our smaller sizes are perfect for gallery walls, our 43x61 cm Large replica is a museum-scale centerpiece. Because of the size, the hand-processing and beeswax application take much longer. This extra time and care ensures that every centimeter of the historic illustration is preserved with a rich, authentic glow.
 
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.